I happen to be a licensed custom agent at seme border and I've always bought cars for my customers from cotonou.Many of them have used these cars for years with no issues and they left cotonou with high mileages.

The simple way of calculating mileage when buying a tokunbo car is illustrated below-

Let's assume a car was manufactured in 2002,we assume at the end of the year,the mileage will be 15,000k for car and 20,000 for SUVs.

I happen to be a licensed custom agent at seme border and I've always bought cars for my customers from cotonou.Many of them have used these cars for years with no issues and they left cotonou with high mileages.

The simple way of calculating mileage when buying a tokunbo car is illustrated below-

Let's assume a car was manufactured in 2002,we assume at the end of the year,the mileage will be 15,000k for car and 20,000 for SUVs.

I happen to be a licensed custom agent at seme border and I've always bought cars for my customers from cotonou.Many of them have used these cars for years with no issues and they left cotonou with high mileages.

The simple way of calculating mileage when buying a tokunbo car is illustrated below-

Let's assume a car was manufactured in 2002,we assume at the end of the year,the mileage will be 15,000k for car and 20,000 for SUVs.

2002-2013 is 11 years,which means if we multiply 15000 and 11,we have 165,000KM for a light user,while 170-200K will be for heavy users.You can also use the same formula for SUVs.

The reason why you buy 02 cars with mileages like 65K is just becos car dealers know that buyers are so fixated on the mileage issh,once the mileage is low,they hardly give thoughts to any other issue.

Cars dealers from cotonou don't tamper with their cars unless a frudulent Nigerian is involved,that's why most customers feel secure when buying from cotonou,if anything is missing from your car or it has been tampered with,the best thing to do is hold your agent and demand for explanations.

Getting a good car is not all about mileage or body. The most important things are the mechanical function, electrical and how well it performs when driving. If automatic, check the dip stick that the oil is not burnt.

Most mechanics here in Nigeria are after what they could get out of both the buyer and seller of the vehicle hence, they will tell you whatever suit them as long as they are paid by the seller.

If you are a good driver, it's easy to determine how good the car is when you drive it. You may as well take someone that you sure knows a bit about cars. Even a good mechanic can't tell you the exact time any engine will pack up. It's however easy to know if the engine is noisy or getting bad by listening and driving the car.

This Mazda 626 is a europe model. Most europe cars have their odometers in km. So 170000km is good.

If the odometer is in miles then it is someting like 270000km. See the difference. In this case not so good.

My dads car was bought in 2009 with 190000miles but still drives not so good but with the same engine. The car has now clocked 350000miles on its original engine. Only the gear box was replaced once. Infact the reason for the weakened engine is as a result of timing belt cut which happened 3 times and damaging valves, oil pump etc in all three occasions.

victor08: Bro, I won't advice you to buy a car of 170,000 mileage when you can get a low mileage car here that is imported from US for the same price. Poverty has really made us to change the way we think in this country. That high mileage shows that engine has been well rocked for a long time. I wonder what still remains in the engine life?

Don't Gamble with your money bro; A white man will not buy a Car of that mileage because they have their reasons; we shouldn't turn our selves to third class citizens just because we want to own a car by all means. Please save more money and buy a low mileage car if you can't afford a BRAND NEW CAR.

I hope you understand.

U are right my brother.OP, I will advise you not to buy a car with that High mileage at that price. No matter how they try to convince you here, in the US, it is a felony to tamper with the millage of any car as that determines the usage of that car.By the time you start using the car here in Nigeria, the parts starts breaking down and before you know it, the car will start smoking and you will be required to change the engine.Do not look at how the interior of a car looks as that will deceive you and even if the engine looks relatively new, also same deceit in order for you to buy it, it has been over used and will constitute a big problem to you.With that amount, you should be able to get a good small car with low mileage.

zuker: it doesnt matter as long as the car is tested sound. we bought 2 cars in coutonuo 2 months ago, one higlander 2005 came with 220,000 and mini cooper 06 with 175,000 and these cars are as fresh as new. most clean cars we saw there are over 100k milleage i just dont how we get 30k on 1999 models of cars in 9ja.

You are smuggling cars from Cotonue into the country and you guys are shouting about corruption and wondering why there is no steady power in the country. I don't know if Mrs Odua is not better than avarage Nigerian tendency for criminality.

saintjoel: I happen to be a licensed custom agent at seme border and I've always bought cars for my customers from cotonou.Many of them have used these cars for years with no issues and they left cotonou with high mileages.

The simple way of calculating mileage when buying a tokunbo car is illustrated below-

Let's assume a car was manufactured in 2002,we assume at the end of the year,the mileage will be 15,000k for car and 20,000 for SUVs.

2002-2013 is 11 years,which means if we multiply 15000 and 11,we have 165,000KM for a light user,while 170-200K will be for heavy users.You can also use the same formula for SUVs.

The reason why you buy 02 cars with mileages like 65K is just becos car dealers know that buyers are so fixated on the mileage issh,once the mileage is low,they hardly give thoughts to any other issue.

Cars dealers from cotonou don't tamper with their cars unless a frudulent Nigerian is involved,that's why most customers feel secure when buying from cotonou,if anything is missing from your car or it has been tampered with,the best thing to do is hold your agent and demand for explanations.

Another car smuggler destroying Nigerian economy and our commonwealth. Do you understand its against the law to do what you're doing?

zuker: it doesnt matter as long as the car is tested sound. we bought 2 cars in coutonuo 2 months ago, one higlander 2005 came with 220,000 and mini cooper 06 with 175,000 and these cars are as fresh as new. most clean cars we saw there are over 100k milleage i just dont how we get 30k on 1999 models of cars in 9ja.

Because most of the Nigerian traders manipulate the mileage after buying high mileage cars and accident cars. Any car below 2007 that looks extraordinary clean, try and look that car very well because 9 out 10, you are buying accident and repainted car. Always check your car report if you want to know really what you are buying. Is free, get the state of the car, and look up the vin number, it will tell you if is clean/blue title or salvage/ certificate of destruction.

saintjoel: I happen to be a licensed custom agent at seme border and I've always bought cars for my customers from cotonou.Many of them have used these cars for years with no issues and they left cotonou with high mileages.

The simple way of calculating mileage when buying a tokunbo car is illustrated below-

Let's assume a car was manufactured in 2002,we assume at the end of the year,the mileage will be 15,000k for car and 20,000 for SUVs.

2002-2013 is 11 years,which means if we multiply 15000 and 11,we have 165,000KM for a light user,while 170-200K will be for heavy users.You can also use the same formula for SUVs.

The reason why you buy 02 cars with mileages like 65K is just becos car dealers know that buyers are so fixated on the mileage issh,once the mileage is low,they hardly give thoughts to any other issue.

Cars dealers from cotonou don't tamper with their cars unless a frudulent Nigerian is involved,that's why most customers feel secure when buying from cotonou,if anything is missing from your car or it has been tampered with,the best thing to do is hold your agent and demand for explanations.

Good advice about how to figure out if the mileage of the tokunbo car could be true. Its funny how some Nigerians expect to get a less than 100k mileage on cars older than 6 years! An average driver in the US do an average of about 10-20k per year as this poster rightly suggested! But I will like to add a caveat, if the car was used in Benin or Nigeria, don't bother put your money on it even if its less than 100k mileage.

Like the quoted poster above mentioned, most dealers sending cars from the US have had to tamper with their mileage sometimes even though the car was in great condition because Nigerian buyers are often fixated on mileage when all they should care about is the maintenance history and the working condition. The OP should get the VIN of the car and get help from certain threads here on nairaland offering to assist people check car maintenance history. I currently drive a 1997 190k mileage car bought in the US (i live in the US) and have added 5k mileage in the last 6 months with no hassles. All its maintenance records were available and I checked them before the purchase.

i bought a a butterfly light camry with a mileage of 230k with an engine dat was as sound as sleep and 1 year down the lane, i have no complaints yet. Age and mileage are nothing but numbers". remember some of these cars are used on free ways and interstate travelling on superb roads, so the distance is nt really the issue but on conditions of roads are these cars used. i would buy a 230k milleage on a Canadian used car thana 20k mileage in a brand new car used in aba ikot ekpene road!

170,000 miles or kilometers is not a problem if the vehicle has been maintained according to its service schedule and had serviceable parts checked and replaced.You stated your friend said the engine was 'superb' . Did he take the vehicle for a test drive or just revved the engine @ its standing position ?What country was vehicle imported from ? If its from a country that the VIN NUMBER could be checked for its previous history, run a check on the car.Despite all advise we might all try to give. None can guarantee a problem - free car purchase. All you and we can do, is guide your purchase and you hope for the best.

Whiteguru: i bought a a butterfly light camry with a mileage of 230k with an engine dat was as sound as sleep and 1 year down the lane, i have no complaints yet. Age and mileage are nothing but numbers". remember some of these cars are used on free ways and interstate travelling on superb roads, so the distance is nt really the issue but on conditions of roads are these cars used. i would buy a 230k milleage on a Canadian used car thana 20k mileage in a brand new car used in aba ikot ekpene road!

No vex abeg! Which one be butterfly light again? 2000/01? Cux I know the one before that (97-99) na tiny or pencile light una dey call am! Then 02 na Orobo or big for nothing!

From my experience, a car of 2002 with a mileage of 170k isn't bad at all if that is the true mileage. Hardly do cotonou guys roll back mileage of cars. It's naija dealers that do that a lot to entice the novice buyers. Imagine someone buying a 2000 model car with mileage of 30k. What matter most as some people have earlier mentioned is the state of the engine which should be ascertained for you by a good mechanic. Also to know that is the true mileage, tell your friend to send you the VIN number so that you can the VIN history of the car. The VIN history can be checked for you on nairaland auto section for free. Check the threads for free VIN check.

I drove my uncle's car while in Lagos during sallah, a 98 Honda Accord with mileage of 234K. The engine and the AC worked so perfectly dat made me fell in love with the car. There are so many low mileage cars that are nothing to write home about. Pls don't fall for the low mileage trick abeg.

Also, I just got a 02/03 camry from cotonou through jelad ventures (saintjoel - username on nairaland) with a mileage of 178k (actual confirmed from Vin history). When at a stop, u won't notice if d engine is on or not unless u check d tachometer on the dash. What am saying here is that mileage does not really matters on cars from usa or canada cos they were used on smooth freeways or highways coupled with good maintenance from previous owner(s).

Another car smuggler destroying Nigerian economy and our commonwealth. Do you understand its against the law to do what you're doing?

I wonder what your types smoke nowadays.So as old as you're,you've not heard that it's not every car brought in from cotonou is smuggled into Nigeria.

Let me enlighten you a little bit,we've ports for cars coming in by sea and borders for cars coming in by land,that's why customs officials have office in apapa,seme and idiroko and they are authorised to collect duty from vehicles coming in through the ports and land borders.

Chech this link for more details and you'll be suirprised what you'll learn about bringing in cars from cotonou instead of wastiing your time accusing innocent businessmen just because network providers have given your cheap access to internet.